Properties of cotton/T‐400 and 100% cotton plain knitted fabric made from ring spun yarn

Abstract

This research studies the properties of a plain knitted fabric made from cotton/T‐400 ring core spun yarn and 100% cotton ring spun yarn. Properties of plain knitted fabric made from 100% cotton ring spun yarn were compared with one made from cotton/T‐400 (70.4C/29.6T). We focused on knitted fabric properties such as the bursting strength, elongation at break, tensile strength, air permeability as well as pilling properties. The two yarn samples were produced on the ring frame which had a special attachment for core spun yarn. Fabrics were then knitted using a circular machine, for consistence of results plain knit structure was adopted for all samples. Knitted fabric properties were then tested and results statistically analyzed. Research results show that, plain knitted fabrics made from cotton/T‐400 (70.4C/29.6T) ring core spun yarn exhibit better elongation at break, bursting strength and air permeability. Whereas the fabric made from 100% cotton showed better pilling resistance and tensile strength compared to cotton/T‐400 (70.4C/29.6T) plain knitted fabric. Results show that T‐400 filament has very significant influence on resulting fabric properties and hence can be technically manipulated to suit different fabric end use requirements.

Full text

Properties of cotton/T-400 and 100% cotton plain
knitted fabric made from ring spun yarn
Eigenschaften von Baumwolle/T-400 und 100 % Baumwolle
glattgestrickten Fasern aus Ringspinngarn
N. T. Akankwasa1, W. Jun1, 2, Z. Yuze1, M. Mushtaq1
This research studies the properties of a plain knitted fabric made from cotton/T-400
ring core spun yarn and 100% cotton ring spun yarn. Properties of plain knitted fab-
ric made from 100% cotton ring spun yarn were compared with one made from cot-
ton/T-400 (70.4C/29.6T). We focused on knitted fabric properties such as the burst-
ing strength, elongation at break, tensile strength, air permeability as well as pilling
properties. The two yarn samples were produced on the ring frame which had a
special attachment for core spun yarn. Fabrics were then knitted using a circular
machine, for consistence of results plain knit structure was adopted for all samples.
Knitted fabric properties were then tested and results statistically analyzed. Re-
search results show that, plain knitted fabrics made from cotton/T-400 (70.4C/
29.6T) ring core spun yarn exhibit better elongation at break, bursting strength and
air permeability. Whereas the fabric made from 100% cotton showed better pilling
resistance and tensile strength compared to cotton/T-400 (70.4C/29.6T) plain
knitted fabric. Results show that T-400 filament has very significant influence on re-
sulting fabric properties and hence can be technically manipulated to suit different
fabric end use requirements.
Keywords: Cotton /T-400 fabric / bursting strength / tensile properties /
air permeability / pilling
Schlüsselwörter: Baumwolle/T-400-Fasern / Bruchsicherheit /
Zugfestigkeitseigenschaften / Luftdurchlässigkeit / Pilling
1 Introduction
In the past decade, a number of studies have been
conducted on the fabrics properties made from cot-
ton yarn and core spun yarns of different compo-
nents and spinning methods [1–5]. Core spun yarn is
aimed at optimizing different yarn properties of the
constituent fibers. Most of the previous studies have
been reported on the geometry and dimensional
properties of fabrics [1, 4–8]. Little work has been
reported on cotton/T-400 fabrics, much as optimiza-
tion of the production process could open room for
more applications. T-400 filament offers stretch and
recovery properties higher than textured yams with
the additional performance benefits of dimensional
stability, easy care and chlorine resistance [9]. T-400
is a new elastic fiber that revolutionizes the comfort,
hand, extensibility, the crease resistance and easy
maintenance of modern textiles. The benefits of T-
400 include among others the smoothness and slip-
pery handle which is responsible for the elastic fab-
rics when used as core yarn, easy care and easy
wear, low shrinkage, high dimensional stability, high
Corresponding author: Wang Jun, College of Textiles,
Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
E-Mail: junwang@dhu.edu.cn
1College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai
201620, China
2The Key Lab of Textiles Science and Technology,
Ministry of Education, Shanghai 201620, China
Mat.-wiss. u. Werkstofftech. 2014,45, No. 11 DOI 10.1002/mawe.201400246
© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.wiley-vch.de/home/muw
1039

tear strength and remarkable crease resistance as
well as resistance to chlorine [10].
According to Mourad et al. [1], on their study on
the performance properties of cotton/spandex fab-
rics, it was reported that increasing the spandex ratio
leads to lower tensile strength. This was attributed to
low tenacity of spandex filament compared to cot-
ton. The overall performance of cotton/spandex fab-
ric properties was better than 100% cotton fabric,
however, controlling the spandex ratio is very im-
portant in order to achieve intended end use. Cotton
as a natural fiber possess good handle properties,
moisture absorption and air permeability among
other properties [11]. Fabrics made from core spun
yarns have always proved to have better perform-
ance properties according to researchers [12–14].
The knitted fabric properties depend on the number
of factors, ranging from the constituent fiber proper-
ties, yarn structural properties and knit structure. In
our research work, optimization of the core-sheath
ratio to ensure yarn structure uniformity hence im-
proved fabric properties was considered. Since T-
400 filament is already a great improvement for core
spun yarn, we focused on exploiting the maximum
potential this filament can have when blended with
cotton. Optimization of spinning parameters during
the production process of the yarns was adopted as it
was anticipated that this would improve the resulting
fabric properties in contrary to previous works that
have focused on geometrical and physical properties
[1–8, 11–13].
2 Experiments
In this study, two fabric samples were produced
from yarns made on a ring frame. The yarns used in
this study were cotton/T-400 (core sheath ratio;
70.4C/29.6T) which was produced on a ring frame
with special attachment for the core filament, Ta-
ble 1. The core-sheath ration of 70.4% cotton and
29.6% T-400 was chosen because with this ratio, a
well centered core component was achieved hence
anticipated to give the best possible yarn properties.
The position of core and sheath is very important for
a core spun yarn [15]. Other fabric was produced
from 100% cotton yarn produced on the ring frame
under the same spinning conditions.
2.1 Materials and methods
Cotton roving of 599tex count and T-400 filament of
count 8.4tex were used. The spinning conditions
were kept constant for both the core spun yarn and
the 100% cotton yarn. Ring spinning machine FA-
001 was used while plain knitted fabrics were made
on circular knitting machine using the yarn samples.
Other experimental details include:
•Cotton/T-400 yarn count: 28.3
•100% Cotton yarn count: 28.3
•Ring diameter: 49 mm
•Traveler weight: 0.457 g
•Roving draft: 1.2.
2.2 Yarn spinning and testing
After spinning, the yarn samples were kept in the lab
under controlled conditions at 20 ± 2 °C, 65 ± 2%
RH (relative humidity). Yarn hairiness was tested on
YG172 yarn hairiness tester at a speed of 30 m/min.
The hairinesses index of the samples were recorded.
Yarns with low hairiness index are preferred to those
with higher hairiness index. The tensile strength and
elongation at break of both yarn samples were meas-
ured using a YG061-1500 testing machine at
500 mm test length and 500 mm/min extension rate.
The yarn evenness was measured on YG135G yarn
evenness tester. This was carried out at a speed of
200 m/min and the CVm (coefficient of variation of
the mass for a cut length of 1 m), thin places/km at –
50%, thick places/km at +50%, Neps/km at +280%
were recorded and results summarized and recorded,
Table 2. Tensile properties of T-400 filament were
also measured and recorded to enable researchers
get a comprehensive analysis of the fabric properties
tested.
2.3 Fabric knitting and testing
Fabrics were knitted on a circular knitting machine.
A plain knit was adopted for both samples and fabric
codding was done for proper identification during
Table 1. Fabric codding and stitch density (c = courses,
w = wales)
Fabric type Code Stitch density
(c × w/cm2)
70.4% cotton/
29.6%T-400
CT 101.8
100% cotton C 105.5
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testing, Table 2. The fabrics produced were; plain
knitted 100% cotton fabric (C) and plain knitted cot-
ton/T-400(70.4/29.6). Before further testing, the fab-
rics were kept under controlled conditions of 65 ±
2% RH and 20 ± 2 °C for more than 48 hours.
The tensile strength and bursting strength was
tested on HD026N+electronic fabric strength tester.
For bursting strength, the tests were carried out in
the warp direction, the original length was adjusted
to 450 mm and samples were all tested at a speed of
100 mm/min. Tensile strength was tested at the same
speed of 100 mm/min and the gauge length of
100 mm. The bursting strength, tensile strength and
breaking elongation of the fabric were recorded for
five repeated tests.
Martindale pilling and abrasion tester was used to
test the fabric’s pilling, pilling values of the fabric
samples were tested according to ASTM4970 stan-
dards. The degree of pilling was analyzed visually
by comparison with the standards. A lower number
(for example 1) means the pilling resistance is low,
(i.e. poor pilling resistance) and a higher number
(e.g. 5) means the fabric shows lower tendency to
pilling hence the pilling resistance is high. The vice-
versa is also true. Air permeability was measured
using the air permeability testerYG461E according
to ASTMD737 standards. The nozzle diameter of
12 mm was used and ten readings were taken from
different parts of the fabric. Results were recorded
and graphs suitable graphs were plotted for analysis.
3 Results and discussion
3.1 Yarn quality characteristic
The yarn qualities were recorded, since the compari-
son is between 100% cotton and cotton/T-400, the
tensile properties of T-400 filament were also re-
corded, Table 2. Cotton/T-400 core spun yarn exhib-
ited extraordinary yarn properties with the breaking
elongation of cotton/T-400 yarn more than six times
higher than that of 100% cotton. This is perhaps due
to the stretching characteristics of T-400 filament.
Cotton/T-400 core spun yarn also showed better
yarn hairiness, on the other hand, the yarn evenness
of 100% cotton yarn was slightly better than the core
spun yarn. This is in agreement with another study
on core spun yarn properties, it is reported that im-
proved properties of core spun yarn were realized in
comparison to a 100% cotton yarn [8].
3.2 Fabric quality characteristics
Comparisons between two fabric samples was done
through analysis of results using suitable graphs.
The data obtained for all tests was checked for errors
before analysis.
3.2.1 Breaking elongation
For breaking elongation, five tests were made for
each fabric at different length along the fabric, Fig-
ure 1. Cotton/T-400 fabric recorded the highest
breaking elongation compared to 100% cotton fab-
ric. The breaking elongation of cotton/T-400 yarn
was ranging from 32.62% to 36.50% while that of
100% cotton fabric was ranged from 7.5% to
10.69 % which shows a higher a difference. This is
explained by the yarn properties, due to the good
stretching properties of cotton/T-400 core spun
yarn, the resulting plain knitted fabric exhibits more
less the same behavior, Table 2. It’s for this reason
that cotton/T-400 core spun yarn is recommended for
clothing that need reasonable stretch such as under
wears, sportswear, casual wear among others [10].
3.2.2 Bursting strength
Bursting strength is the ability of the fabric to resist
rupture by pressure. Burst strength depends on the
Table 2. Yarn properties and tensile properties of T-400 filament
Parameter Cotton/T-400 100% Cotton T-400 filament
Hairiness (at 3 mm) 6.09 13.97 –
CVm (Evenness/%) 11.60 11.14 –
Neps (280%)/Km 0 5 –
Thin places (–50%) 25 10 –
Thick places (+50%) 5 10 –
Breaking Tenacity (cN/Tex) 10.13 9.66 32.35
Breaking elongation (%) 37.44 6.30 24.00
CV of elongation (%) 5.48 6.88 12.40
Mat.-wiss. u. Werkstofftech. 2014,45, No. 11 Properties of cotton/T-400 and 100% cotton plain knitted fabric made from ring spun yarn
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tensile strength and extensibility of the material. In
this study, the burst strength of 100% cotton fabric
and cotton/T-400 knitted fabric was measured and
comparisons made. The force required to rupture a
fabric by distending it with a force applied at right
angles to the plane of the fabric is the bursting
strength. Cotton/T-400(70.4/29.6) plain knitted fab-
ric shows higher bursting strength values compared
to 100% cotton fabric, Figure 2. Since bursting
strength depends on extensibility and tensile strength
of fabric, the higher busting strength of cotton/T-400
can be explained by the existence of T-400 filament.
However, according to Daiver et al., bursting strength
also depends on the knitting structure of the fabric
[6]. In order to improve the bursting strength explor-
ing different kinds of knit structures could be idea. It
can be noticed that the difference in bursting
strength between the two fabrics under investigation
is not very large, Figure 2.
3.2.3 Tensile strength
The tensile strength of the fabric samples show that
100% cotton knitted fabric has higher tensile
strength than cotton/T-400 fabric. Increasing elas-
tane percentage in core spun yarns has been reported
to reduce the tensile strength of the resulting yarn
[1]. This could be a valid explanation for the ob-
served lower values of tensile strength of the plain
knitted fabric made from cotton/T-400 ring core
spun yarn. Cotton has high tenacity than elastane fi-
bers and in the knitted fabric made from cotton/T-
400 core spun yarn, the T-400 filament is responsi-
ble for the tensile properties since it was used as a
core component. The tensile properties of fabric
made from cotton/T-400 are highly influenced by
the filament yarn hence lower tensile strength.The
individual T-400 filament shows higher breaking te-
nacity, this could be attributed to higher stretch be-
fore rupture, Table 2. During the spinning process,
spinning parameters also determine the resulting
yarn properties [3].
3.2.4 Air permeability
Air permeability is the ability of fabric to allow cer-
tain amount of air to pass through. It is also consid-
ered among the most important fabric properties de-
pending on the fabric intended end use. Understand-
ing the air permeability properties is very helpful
during fabric selection for different purposes. Air
permeability depends on fabric structure, thickness,
weight and porosity [1, 7]. Air permeability is cru-
cial especially when dealing with clothing intended
for parachutes, sails, vacuum cleaner, air bags as
well as industrial filter fabrics [7].
Air permeability of 100% cotton plain knitted fab-
ric was compared with Cotton/T-400 plain knitted
fabric, Figure 3. It is shown that, cotton/T-400(70.4/
26.6) plain knitted fabrics possess higher air perme-
ability than 100% cotton fabric. T-400 percentage
could be a reason for higher air permeability. This
Figure 1. Comparison of breaking elongation of 100% cotton
and cotton/T-400 plain knitted fabric
Figure 2. Comparison of bursting strength of 100% cotton (C)
and cotton/T-400(CT) plain knitted fabrics
N. T. Akankwasa et al. Mat.-wiss. u. Werkstofftech. 2014,45, No. 11
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implies that the difference is air permeability may be
adjusted to suit end intended end use by controlling
the cotton/T-400 core sheath ratio. Studies on air
permeability of cotton/spandex fabrics revealed that
their permeability increases with increase in spandex
ratio [1, 7]. This justifies the higher air permeability
of cotton/T-400 fabric, however, Salome et al.
further reports that air permeability not only depends
on the space between the constituent yarns but also
depends on the space between the individual fibers
[7].
3.2.5 Pilling properties
The 100% cotton sample tends to have lower pilling
rates than that made from cotton/T-400 core sun
yarn. Pilling is the formation of knots or balls on the
surface of the fabric due to fabric subjection to pro-
cessing or wearing. After 600 revolutions on the fab-
rics samples, 100% cotton plain knitted fabric still
exhibited higher pilling resistance compared to cot-
ton/T-400 plain knitted fabric. This can be explained
by the fact that since cotton/T-400 knitted fabric was
knitted from ring core spun yarn where cotton was
the sheath and T-400 the core. The sheath yarn is
not tightly held on the yarn and hence can easily
wear out. Candan and Onal attributed lower pilling
tendency of the 100% fabric samples made from ring
spun yarn to the fact that they are hairier which al-
lows easy exposure of raised fibers ends to abrading
forces [16]. In our study, the alignment of core-
sheath in the cotton/T-400 yarn may have been re-
sponsible for the degree of pilling of the cotton/T-
400 fabric. Pilling resistance is a very important
property to guarantee better garment comfort proper-
ties.
4 Conclusion
Our work focuses on breaking elongation, burst
strength, air permeability and tensile strength proper-
ties of plain knitted fabrics from 100% cotton made
from ring spun yarn and cotton/T-400(70.4/29.6)
plain knitted fabric made from ring core spun yarn.
The results show that difference in properties of con-
stituent fibers as well as yarn structural difference
plays an important role on the resulting fabric prop-
erties. It’s revealed that plain knitted fabrics made
from cotton/T-400 (70.4/29.6) exhibit better elonga-
tion at break, burst strength and air permeability. On
the other hand, plain knitted fabrics made from
100% cotton have better tensile strength and pilling
resistance. The technical explanation of this differ-
ence is explained by the difference in yarn structure
and individual fiber properties. Findings in our re-
search reveal a great potential of T-400 filament, due
to its extra-ordinary properties, optimization of dif-
ferent production parameters would achieve in-
tended fabric end use.
Figure 3. Comparison of tensile strength of cotton/T-400 (CT)
and 100% cotton (C) plain knitted fabric
Figure 4. Comparison rate of air permeability of cotton/T-400
(CT) and 100% cotton (C) plain knitted fabrics
Mat.-wiss. u. Werkstofftech. 2014,45, No. 11 Properties of cotton/T-400 and 100% cotton plain knitted fabric made from ring spun yarn
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Received in final form: May 7th 2014 T 246
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